Register Log In Wordsmith Talk Forums General Topics Q&A about words spruik Search Advanced Forum Search Forums Calendar Active Threads

Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread spruik #143929 06/13/2005 11:51 AM Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 2 hkruiniger stranger hkruiniger stranger Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 2 Today's word is described as "origin unknown". Speakers of Dutch and related languages always notice the "ui" diphthong which doesn't seem to occur in any other languages; here it would seem to be a vernacular version of "spreek", Dutch for "speak". Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: spruik #143930 06/13/2005 2:54 PM Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK dxb Pooh-Bah dxb Pooh-Bah Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,692 UK That’s interesting, I hadn’t thought about it before, but I have understood that ‘duiker’ (a type of antelope?) is pronounced ‘dyka’, not ‘dooka’ and wouldn’t that imply that ‘spruik’ is pronounced as ‘spryke’, not ‘sprook’ as Wordsmith proposes? Or is there a difference here between Dutch and Afrikaans? I don’t speak Dutch, but I see a lot of it written down and I’m often struck by the ‘ij’ combination that comes out similar to an English ‘y’. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: spruik #143931 06/13/2005 3:50 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky There's a cool thread on this in Weekly Themes; not trying to shut this one down, but y'all ought to look there for further info. on this topic. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: spruik #143932 06/13/2005 7:15 PM Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 1 Jacqueline BdJ stranger Jacqueline BdJ stranger Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 1 Yes "ui" is a typical Dutch diphtong, but there are other derivations of spreken = to talk, to speak that make a better fit for the meaning given. What about sprookje = fairy tale, or toespraak = oration? Google mentioned that it was an Australian term. Maybe spruik is their bastardization of sprookje To my ears, Australian English has an enormous amount of diphtongs. Jacqueline BdJ Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: spruik #143933 06/13/2005 10:27 PM Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada Zed Pooh-Bah Zed Pooh-Bah Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada Hi JB Welcome to the madness. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

Default Style BlackNTan Drab eBay GooG v2 infopop new dark new light original dark original stock rounded corners Slate snow sunny dropshadow theblues Touch Of Grey UBB.threads UBB.threads - Dark UBB.threads - Light UBBCentral UBBCentral - Crimson UBBCentral - Lime UBBCentral - Marshmallow UBBCentral - Mocha UBBCentral - Zen UBBT77 UBBT77 - Dark ubbthreads ubbthreads-dark Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Forum Help · Wordsmith Talk